Rotary lock

ABSTRACT

A lock for securing a pair of members with one of the members having a first locking member including a longitudinal movable bolt and the other member having a bolt receiving opening for receiving the bolt. The bolt supporting member has an off-center guide way for receiving a flexible key therein which is engageable and attachable to the end of the bolt so as to rotate the bolt which has a transverse pin extending therefrom that can be aligned with openings in spacer members so as to allow the bolt to move longitudinally to the locked and unlocked positions.

United States Patent [191 Van Gompel Dec. 17, 1974 [54] ROTARY LOCK 3,824,815 7/1974 Darling 70 290x [75] Inventor: James J. Van Gompel, Fremont, I

Ind Primary Examzner-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hill, Gross, Simpson, Van 1 1 Asslgneel Bramma Angola, Santen, Steadman, Chiara & Simpson [22] Filed: Dec. 26, 1973 Appl. No.: 428,432

U.S. C1. 70/412, 292/60 1 [51] Int. Cl E05b 35/06 I [58] Field of Search 70/259, 290, 395, 396,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 346,011 7/1886 Abbett 70/412 X 1,175,946 3/1916 Foster... 70/412 X 2,488,986 11/1949 Richter.... 70/412 X 9 3,431,756 3/1969 Fennell 70/259 5 7 ABSTRACT A lock for securing a pair of members with one of the members having a first locking member including a longitudinal movable bolt and the other member having a bolt receiving opening for receiving the bolt. The

- bolt supporting member has an off-center guide way for receiving a flexible key therein which is engageable and attachable to the end of the bolt so as to rotate the bolt whichv has a transverse pin extending therefrom that can be aligned with openings in spacer members so as to allow the bolt to move longitudinally to the locked and unlocked positions.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEL SEC 1 H874 sum 1 BF 2 PAIENTEL SE8 1 7 I974 SHEET 2 0F 2 1 Y ROTARY LOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION longitudinally of the bolt housing to the locked and unlocked positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates'to a novel bolt'lock comprising a bolt mounted for longitudinal motion in a bolt housing and having a transverse pin attached to the bolt which restricts the longitudinal movement of the bolt'unless the bolt is angularly rotated so as to align the transverse pin with mating openings in spacer members mounted in the bolt housing. The inner end of the bolt is formed with a key receiving socket for receiving a flexible key therein which can be inserted into a curved key guide to mate with the end of the bolt thus to rotate the bolt and move it from the locked to the unlocked position or from the unlocked to the locked position. Spring members are mounted at the end and initial positions of the transverse pin so as to engage the pin and thus allow the flexible key to be removed from thebolt.

Provision is made for interchangeable heads on the end of the flexible key such that unauthorizedparties will not be able to use a standard key to open every lock. The tubes 66'and 67 being bent'out of axial align-.

ment prevents visual access.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments-thereof,

taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,

although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and'in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS I FIG. 1 is a view illustrating-the lock of the invention installed to lock'a pair of members. I

FIG. 2.is a side partially sectional view illustrating the lock with the flexible key inserted.

FIG. Sis an end view taken onplane 3- 3 in FIG. 2

FIG. 4 isasectional view'taken on line 4-4 in FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional viewthrough the bolthousing.

FIG. 6is a detailed view of the flexible key, and

FIG. '7 is an exploded view of the spaced locking plates and spring.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I I ,EMBoDiME Ts FIG. 1 illustrates an enclosure 10 having pivoted doors 1] and 12 which are to be locked by the novel lock of this invention. The lock of the invention includes a bolt housing 16 and a bolt receiving member 14. Bolt receiving member 14 is mounted on the door 11 and the bolt housing 16 is mounted on the door 12. It is to be realized, of course, that the invention can be utilized with horizontal, overhead doors or any other arrangement wherein two members are to be, locked. The lock members can be completely enclosed as'an integral part of the door so that they are protected. The lock can also be mounted such that if an external wall is being locked water will drain from the lock so as to prevent rusting and freezing in the lock.

Bolt receiving member 14 can be completely covered so that there is no access to the bolt 18 when in the locked position. The bolt'housing 16 will be so constructed that water will be able to drain freely from said housing. Tollerances will be loosely set so as to prevent rusting or freezing.

FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of the lock and illustrates that the bolt receiving member 14 is formed with an opening 15- through which the bolt 18 passes when locking or unlocking. I

A flexible key 21 is receivablethrough an opening 67 formed in the end 63 of the bolt supporting member 16 to move, the bolt 18 from the locked to the unlocked position or from the unlocked to the locked position. The key 21 has a handle 32 with a crank arm 36 and a knob 38 for rotating the flexible portion 26 which carries the key 22 thereon which engages with a mating 'receptable' in the bolt 18.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the bolt housing and key ar-. rangement in greater detail. The bolt 18 has a transverse pin 19 which extends therefrom. A plurality of spacing plates 48, 51, 53, and 56 are formed with central openings 82, 84, 87, and 89 each of which further is provided with transversely extending slots 83, 86, 88,

. and 91 such that-the transverse pin 19 can pass through the plates when the pin 19 is aligned with'the transversely extending slots.

As shown in FIG. 5, said housing 16 comprises an an'opening is mounted adjacent the plate 41. A flat spring 44, shown in the exploded view in FIG. 7, which has a break in its surface so as to provide an upright portion 47 and an inwardly extending portion 46, is

mounted between the plate 45 and key way plate 48.

Key wayplates 48, 51, 53, and 56 having central opening s 89, 87, 84, and 82 respectively, for guiding post 18 in an axial direction and said key way plates having pin 19 of bolt 18. Spacers 49, 52', and 54, respectively,

are provided to separate said key way plates, allowing sufficient clearance for free rotation of transversepin -l9 in bolt 18. A flat spring 57 identical to the spring 44 is mounted between key way plate 56 and end plate 58 which has central opening 81 through whichthe bolt 18 is guided. This plate, however, has no .key way slot so as to limit the rearward motion of the bolt 18 by virtue of the protruding pin 19.

A shoulder 68 is formed on the bolt 18 to the right relative to FIG. 5 of the plate 58 and a biasing washer 69 rests against the shoulder 68. A guide tube 66 is mounted within the right end relative to FIG. 5 of the bolt supporting member 17 and is formed with a generally straight portion 66 which is aligned with the end 72 of the bolt which is received therein and a curved portion 67 formed adjacent the right end relative to FIG. 5 of the member 17. Frame members 61 and 63 are formed with openings through which the tube member 66 extends and support the tube 66 relative to the member 17. The member 63 is shown, for example, in FIG. 3 and is welded by weld bead 64 to the wall of the member 17 as shown. A spacer member 62 is mounted between the member 63 and the member 61 and a spacer member 59 is mounted between the member 58 and the member 61. A drifting washer 90 is slidably mounted on the tube 66 and a first spring 71 which might be constructed of stainless steel is mounted between the member 69 and the drifting washer 90. A second spring 70, which may be made of stainless steel, is mounted between the drifting washer 90 and the support 61.

A key receiving'opening 73 is formed in the inner end of the bolt 18 within the tube 66 and has the outer portion tapered as shown at 72 so as to guide the key into the opening 73. Opening 73 has an inside diameter slightly larger than the maximum thread diameter of the key head 22. The opening serves to guide the key head 22 into axial alignment with threads 74 of bolt 18. An inner portion of the opening 73 is threaded with threads 74. A central pin 75 is mounted in the bolt 18 and extends throuugh the threaded portion 74 and into the opening 73. The purpose of the pin 75 is to prevent the unauthorized party from entering, using a common bolt not having a mating hole drilled therein.

The key is shown in FIG. 6 and comprises a key head 22 which has a threaded portion 24 with threads which mate with the threads 74of the bolt. The central opening 25 is formed in the key head 22 so that it can pass over the pin 75 mounted in the bolt 18. The key head 22 may be interchangeable and may be attached to the key by set-screw 23 so as to allow interchangeable head of different types to be mounted on the key 21. Forexample, left-or right-hand threads may be used on the key and the bolt 18. Also, the-diameter and number of threads per inch may also be varied. A flexible steel cable 26 joins the key head 22 to a guide tube 28. A spring 27 surrounds the cable 26 to prevent it from increasing in diameter and unwinding. The surrounding spring 27 must be wound in the opposite direction that between the members 56 and 58. The flexible key 21 is inserted by the operator into the opening of tube portion 67 and due to the flexibility of the cable 26, the

the-cable is wound to prevent unravelling of the cable.

The tube 28 has threads 29 upon which a nut 31 is threadedly received and a rotating cylindrical handle 32 bears against the nut 31 and against a washer 33 which is attached to the tube 28. The cylindrical portion 32 rotates relative to the tube 28 and can be held in one hand by the operator. The washer 33 has a tubukey head 22 will follow the tubes 66 and 67 and due to the taper on the end 72 of bolt 18 will be guided into the opening 73. The opening 25 of key head 22 passes over the pin 75 until threads 24 of key head 22 meet with mating threads 74 of the bolt.

The key head 22 is then rotated by the operator, using crank arm 36, until mating threads 24 and 74 become completely engaged. Continued rotation will then be transmitted to the bolt until transverse pin 19 is moved into alignment with the slot 83 of key way plate 56 at which instant the coil springs and 71,

under constant compression, release a portion of theirenergy and move the bolt 18 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 5 until transverse pin 19 abutts key way plate 53.

Further rotation of the crank arm 36 will cause the bolt 18 to continue moving to the left until the transverse pin 19 passes sequentially through the remaining key way slots 86,88, and 89, respectively, of key way plates 53, 51, and 48; said movement being influenced by the unexpired energy of the coil springs 70 and 71. Transverse pin 19, after passing through the last key way plate 48, will come to rest against reinforcing plate 45. Now the bolt 18 is in the fully locked position.

Still further rotation of crank arm 36 will cause the pin 19 to slip by the inwardly extending portion 46 of the peripheral flat spring 44. This is acquired by no more than one complete rotation of the crank arm 36. As the pin 19 slips by the inwardly extending portion 46, an audible click can be heard. 7

To remove the key 21, simply reverse the rotation of crank arm 36, causing the pin 19 to butt against the inwardly extending portion 46 of flat spring 44. This then vallows disengagement of the threads 24 of'key. way

Unauthorized parties trying to open the lock are 1 faced with the problem that they cannot see the inner end 72 ofthe bolt to determine whatkind of key is required 'to open the lock. Also, they cannot determine the number of threads or direction of the threads or the fact that the key must have a central aligned opening into which the pin is received and thus the lock will be very secure.

When it is necessary to unlock the device, the key 21 is inserted into the tubes 67 and 66, and due to the previously mentioned features, will becomethreadedly engaged with bolt 18 upon clockwise rotation of crank arm 36.. The inwardly extending portion 46 of flat spring 44 is of sufficient rigidityto retain the bolt 18 against rotation by virtue of the pin 19 bearing against said portion 46 until the threads of both' parts are completely engaged. T

To continue the unlocking procedure it is now necessary to pull down or'away from the bolt housing with one hand grasping handle, portion 32,'while cranking clockwise with the other hand grasping crank arm 36. As the transverse pin 19 is rotated into alignment with the keyway slot of each of the keyway plates the pulling then counteracts the springs 70 and 71- implementing passage from one compartment to the other in a left or right direction as viewed in FIG. 5, until pin l9- passes through the final keyway plate56. An additional one quarter turn inthe clockwise direction will place the pin 19 past the inwardly extending portion of spring 57. Bolt 18 is now in its-fully'opened position; key 22 may now be disengaged by turning crank arm 36 in a counterclockwise direction.

It is seen that this invention provides a lock which is very strong and very secure and although it has been described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof it is not to be so limited as changes and modification may be made which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A lock comprising, a housing, a cylindrical bolt movably mounted in said housing, a transverse pin attached to said bolt, a plurality of locking plates mounted in said housing and formed with openings through which said bolt extends, and a plurality of radial slots formed in said locking plates and arranged so as to be misaligned with each other so that said bolt must be angularly displaced relative to its longitudinal axis for said transverse pin to pass through said plurality of radial slots.

2. A lock according to claim 1 comprising a key receiving opening formed in said bolt, a key, and an opening formed in said housing to allow said key to be I inserted into said key receiving opening of said bolt.

3. A lock according to claim 2 wherein said key receiving opening of said bolt is internally threaded and said key has an externally threaded portion receivable in said housing and said key receiving opening in said bolt are misaligned and said key has a flexible portion which allows said key to be inserted into said key receiving opening of said bolt.

6. A lock according to claim 5 including guide means between said opening in said housing and said key receiving opening in said bolt.

7. A lock according to claim 6 wherein said guide means is a tube.

8. A lock according to claim 7 wherein said tube has at least one bend.

9. A lock according to claim 8 wherein said key has a crank handle for rotating said key. 1

10. A lock according to claim 9 including first rotary limit means mounted in said housing adjacent a first end one of said plurality of lockingplates to limit the rotary motion of said bolt by engaging said transverse pin.

11. A lock according to claim 10 including second rotary limit means'mounted in said housing adjacent a second end one of said plurality of locking plates to limit the rotary motion of said bolt by engaging said 1 transverse pin.

12. A lock according to claim 11 including a spring means mounted between said housing and said bolt.

13. A lock according to claim 12 wherein said spring means comprises a pair of aligned spiral springs with a floating washer mounted on said tube between said pair diameters, different pitches and different directions 7 canbe mounted to said key. 

1. A lock comprising, a housing, a cylindrical bolt movably mounted in said housing, a transverse pin attached to said bolt, a plurality of locking plates mounted in said housing and formed with openings through which said bolt extends, and a plurality of radial slots formed in said locking plates and arranged so as to be misaligned with each other so that said bolt must be angularly displaced relative to its longitudinal axis for said transverse pin to pass through said plurality of radial slots.
 2. A lock according to claim 1 comprising a key receiving opening formed in said bolt, a key, and an opening formed in said housing to allow said key to be inserted into said key receiving opening of said bolt.
 3. A lock according to claim 2 wherein said key receiving opening of said bolt is internally threaded and said key has an externally threaded portion receivable in said key receiving opening.
 4. A lock according to claim 3 with a guide pin mounted in said key receiving opening of said bolt, and said threaded portion of said key formed wiTh a longitudinal opening receivable over said guide pin.
 5. A lock according to claim 4 wherein said opening in said housing and said key receiving opening in said bolt are misaligned and said key has a flexible portion which allows said key to be inserted into said key receiving opening of said bolt.
 6. A lock according to claim 5 including guide means between said opening in said housing and said key receiving opening in said bolt.
 7. A lock according to claim 6 wherein said guide means is a tube.
 8. A lock according to claim 7 wherein said tube has at least one bend.
 9. A lock according to claim 8 wherein said key has a crank handle for rotating said key.
 10. A lock according to claim 9 including first rotary limit means mounted in said housing adjacent a first end one of said plurality of locking plates to limit the rotary motion of said bolt by engaging said transverse pin.
 11. A lock according to claim 10 including second rotary limit means mounted in said housing adjacent a second end one of said plurality of locking plates to limit the rotary motion of said bolt by engaging said transverse pin.
 12. A lock according to claim 11 including a spring means mounted between said housing and said bolt.
 13. A lock according to claim 12 wherein said spring means comprises a pair of aligned spiral springs with a floating washer mounted on said tube between said pair of springs.
 14. A lock according to claim 7 wherein said threaded portion of said key is detachably connected to said key such that threaded portions having different diameters, different pitches and different directions can be mounted to said key. 